1.
Your cousin claimed to be late because the doors of his house were frozen shut. Even though I have my doubts, his explanation is plausible. It got really cold last night. I'll just have to take his word for it.
If a statement is plausible, __________.
A. 
You must always believe it
B. 
You should never believe it
C. 
It's hard to understand because it makes no sense
D. 
It's believable enough to possibly be true
2.
If you don't curtail your spending, you'll be broke in no time at all!
Which word is a synonym of "curtail"?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
3.
No word must ever leak out about this military action! It has to be a clandestine operation in order to succeed.
Which word is a synonym of "clandestine"?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
4.
Put this medicine on your arm and rub it into your skin until it's invisible. It will inhibit the infection's attempt to spread.
What does “inhibit” mean?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
Help to do something important
5.
Beware of those who use the truth to deceive. When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can create a false impression.For example, someone might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery. It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!” This guy’s a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought two hundred tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser!He didn’t say anything that was false, but he deliberately omitted important information. That’s called a half-truth. Half-truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.Untrustworthy candidates in political campaigns often use this tactic. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents runs an ad saying, “During Governor Smith’s term, the sate lost one million jobs!” That’s true. However an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.” Advertisers will sometimes use half-truths. It’s against the law to make false claims so they try to mislead you with the truth. An ad might boast, “Nine out of ten doctors recommend Yucky Pills to cure nose pimples.” It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Corporation.This kind of deception happens too often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.
A. 
Read before answering 6-10
B. 
Read before answering 6-10
6.
Which statement is true according to the article?
A. 
Whenever people tell the truth, they are really lying.
B. 
You can’t trust gamblers.
C. 
All governors help their states.
D. 
The truth can be used in dishonest ways.
7.
What does “deceive” mean?
A. 
Removing one’s teeth in public
B. 
C. 
D. 
8.
What does “omitted” mean?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
9.
The author clearly wants people to _________.
A. 
Think carefully about what they read and hear
B. 
Wear mismatched socks during political campaigns
C. 
D. 
Vote for female candidates
10.
Another appropriate title for this selection would be:
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
11.
Short stories may be studied by breaking them down into several manageable and identifiable parts. The overall events, conflicts, and character (s) in a short story form the____________.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
12.
The main character, who usually represents the good, is called the_____________.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
13.
His opposition, usually bad or evil, is called the __________________.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
14.
When the two opponents are about to meet in conflict, this lead-up creates____________.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
Really good waffles to have with your mom on a Saturday morning
15.
, which makes the story interesting and exciting. A _________________________ usually creates a crisis or a situation that leads to the two forces meeting.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
16.
When they meet, the _________ of the story occurs
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
17.
Usually, but not always, there is a ________________________, or "unraveling of the plot" where the reader finds out what happened.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
18.
Conflict is essential to an exciting story. Writers make use of two major forms of conflict: 1________________________ and 2. __________________________
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
19.
When a writer writes a story and you are reading it, you should be aware of his ____________, or his attitude toward his subject, event or character. Writers can sway us to their way of thinking and we might not even be aware of it.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
20.
The previously mentioned attitude may be positive, negative or ____________________. We must learn to read for ourselves and make our own decisions about issues.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
21.
When a writer wants to add feeling or emotion, or values to his writing, he uses the ___________________ meaning (feelings, emotions).
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
22.
Thus, although "red" is a color, when a person "sees red", he is very ________________.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
23.
The dictionary meaning of a word is its _____________________ meaning.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
24.
Thus, "Lance is wearing a blue shirt", would signify the word "blue" is an _________________.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 
25.
Finally, we now discuss perspective and setting. "Perspective" is a big word for ________________.
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
Allegorical Representation
E. 
Homer Smith and Odysseus dancing the Bird Dance together